Papal Guilt of the 
World War 



GILBERT O. NATIONS, Ph.D. 

It 



Price 25 cents 



Published by 

THE PROTESTANT 

52 Bliss Building 
Washington, D. C. 



Copyright 1921 
By GILBERT O. NATIONS 



Q)C!.A624919 
OCT 21 1921 



■«V\<Q( 



f4 









Papal Guilt of the World War 



Historical Background 

FOR centuries intrigue between the Vatican and Vienna has been 
a very prolific cause of unrest, oppression and bloodshed in 
Europe. Though deeply concealed by Jesuitical cunning, that 
intrigue, with the German imperial government in the background, 
was the imumediate cause of the great world war which broke out in 
the summer of 1914 and in which one-fourth of the wealth of the 
world and millions of its finest yoimg men were swallowed up. 

Many unanswerable proofs point unmistakably to primary and 
immediate guilt of the Vatican in producing the diplomatic spark 
that exploded the magazine of pent-up military might and inter- 
national greed and hatred and so engulfed the world in the most 
stupendous cataclysm of all time. 

A secret treaty with Serbia executed by the Pope in the Vatican, 
June 24, 1914, was the immediate cause of the war, though a long 
program of military and diplomatic preparation back of the secret 
treaty had carefully prepared the way. 

When in the tenth century the non-Aryan and non-Christian Hun- 
garians entered Europe from central Asia, in their furious invasion 
from the east, they drove into the Slav population a wedge which 
rent it asunder. Those Slavs whose lands lay south of the Hun- 
garians, or Magyars, came to be known as Southern Slavs, or Jugo- 
slavs. They included among other peoples Serbia, Montenegro, 
Bosnia and Herzegovena. 

In spite of splendid valor, they were overwhelmed by the Turkish 
power which entered Europe five centuries later. So they suffered 
through long and bloody centuries of oppression under the Moham- 
medan yoke. About a hundred years ago Serbia was released from 
Turkish thralldom and given virtual independence. 

Of Slavic blood and Greek Orthodox religion, the Serbian people 
were akin to the Russians by ties both natural and spiritual. The 
Congress of Berlin of 1878 handed over to the Roman Catholic Haps- 
burg Empire of Austria Hungary the two little Serbian States of 
Bosnia and Herzegovena. The heel of the Turk could scarcely ex- 
ceed in cruelty that of the Hapsburg thus imposed upon unwilling 
and helpless Serbians. Thirty-one years later the two little States 
were actually incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as 
part and parcel of its body politic. 



y 



[4] 

In that sad plight, witli the Roman Catholic religion forced upon 
them through their schools and otherwise, they yearned for closer 
relations with their independent kinsmen in Serbia and Montenegro. 
Their grief and aspirations naturally touched a responsive chord in 
the Serbian and Montenegran heart. With common impulse all 
hoped and prayed for the day when the peoples of Serbian blood 
might be united as an independent or autonomous state and so work 
out their own civil and religious destiny. 

Growth of that aspiration and of the societies designed to foster 
and promote it was bitterly resented and condemned both in Vienna 
and at Rome. The Vatican sought to Romanize the whole Balkan 
peninsula, while Austria Hungary and Germany desired the subjuga- 
tion of that peninsula for territorial aggrandizement and as an open 
highway to the Near East and India. So papal and German and 
Austrian imperial ambitions ran parallel. 

For the accomplishment of that selfish and despotic purpose it was 
necessary to Romanize or crush Serbia as the strongest state of the 
Serbian group. As that valorous little kingdom emerged from two 
exhausting wars in close succession, the one against Turkey and the 
other against Bulgaria, she was largely denuded of both men and 
money. 

The war against Bulgaria was ended by the treaty of Bucharest, 
which was signed August 10, 1913. Exasperated by the success of 
Serbia in both wars, the Hapsburg Empire had planned to attack her 
before the treaty of Bucharest was signed. Professor Harding of 
the chair of history in the Indiana University, in his New Medieval 
and Modern History, at page 685, makes this statement: 

"The Turkish Empire in Europe was thus reduced to very small 
proportions. But new Balkan questions were arising. Austria had 
already (August 9, 1913) asked Italy to join her in attacking Serbia, 
but Italy refused. Nevertheless, Austria, dissatisfied as she was with 
the treaty of Bucharest, was resolved to regain her influence in the 
Balkans, and Germany stood back of her. Thus the Balkan ques- 
^ tion was to become a chief cause of the great World War of 1914." 

Feeling that depletion of her resources in the two recent wars ren- 
dered Serbia peculiarly vulnerable and helpless, Vienna and Rome 
decided that the time had arrived to poison and subdue her with 
virus of popery injected through her schools and domestic life or, 
in case of resistance, to crush her outright. Accordingly she was 
cajoled or coerced into accepting a secret treaty which fastened the 
papal yoke securely around her neck and placed her schools, her 
domestic life and her national treasury at the service of the Roman 
hierarchy. 

Being secret, the treaty does not appear in any state papers pub- 
lished officially so far as the author of this book has been able to 
ascertain. But through the kindness of the Serbian legation at 
\. Washington, he has been able to procure a copy in the original Ital- 



[5] 

ian direct from Rome. The copy was transmitted to him from the 
legation by mail, accompanied by a brief letter signed personally by 
the Secretary to the Serbian Minister, The following is a complete 
translation into English from the original tongue: 

Concordat Between the Holy See and the Goveeinment of 

Serbia 

In the Name of the Holy Trinity. 

His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff Pius X and His Majesty 
Peter I King of Serbia, in order to conserve the interests of the 
Catholic religion in the Kingdom of Serbia, have resolved to 
execute a Concordat, and for that purpose have named their 
respective Plenipotentiaries, to wit: 

On the part of His Holiness, the Eminent and Reverend Lord 
Cardinal Merry del Val, His Secretary of State ; and on the part 
of His Majesty, His Excellency Lord Milenko R. Vesnitch, En- 
voy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty 
King of Serbia to France and Belgium, of the Order of the 
Grand Cross of the Holy Savior, Doctor of Laws; 

Who having exchanged their respective plenary powers and 
found the same to be in good and sufi&cient form, covenant to- 
gether as follows: 

Article 1. The Catholic, Apostolic, Roman religion shall be 
freely and publicly exercised in the Kingdom of Serbia. 

Article 2. In the Kingdom of Serbia is constituted an eccle- 
siastical province, composed of the Archdiocese of Belgrade, 
with its seat in the capital of the Kingdom, and having as its 
territory that comprised within the limits of Serbia as it was be- 
fore the treaties of London and Bucharest; and of the suffragan 
diocese of Uskub, with its seat in that city, comprising the new 
territories, and passing from the jurisdiction of Propaganda 
Fide to the regime of the common law. 

Article 3. The Archbishop of Belgrade and the Bishop of Us- 
kub, to whose respective jurisdictions belong all Catholics of 
the Kingdom of Serbia, shall depend for ecclesiastical affairs 
directly and exclusively on the Holy See. 

Article 4. His Holiness, before naming definitely the Arch- 
bishop of Belgrade and the Bishop of Uskub, shall notify the 
Royal Government the person of each candidate, in order to 
know whether there exist any facts or motives of a political or 
civil nature against him. 

Article 5. The Archbishop of Belgrade and the Bishop of Us- 
kub shall receive from the Royal Government an annual allow- 
ance, the former of 12,000 dinars, plus an indemnity of 4,000 
dinars, the latter of 10,000 dinars with the right to a pension 
at least equal to that of officers of the state. 



Article 6. The official title of the Archbishop of Belgrade and 
the Bishop of Uskub shall be Most Illustrious and Most Rev- 
erend My Lord. 

Article 7. Before entering into office the Archbishop of Bel- 
grade and the Bishop of Uskub shall take an oath of fidelity in 
presence of a representative of the Royal Government in the 
following terms: "I swear and promise before God and upon 
the Holy Gospels obedience and fidelity to His Majesty the King 
of Serbia; and I promise not to take part in any plot or assist 
in any conspiracy and not to encourage the clergy under my 
authority or permit them to intrigue against the public tran- 
quility of the state." 

Article 8. The Archbishop of Belgrade and the Bishop of Us- 
kub shall have full liberty in the exercise of ecclesiastical func- 
tions and in the ruling of their dioceses and shall have power to 
exercise all rights and prerogatives of their pastoral ministry, 
following the discipline approved by the Church. In their re- 
spective dioceses all members of the Catholic clergy shall de- 
pend on them in matters regarding the exercise of the sacred 
ministry. 

Article 9. To the Archbishop of Belgrade and the Bishop of 
Uskub belongs the right, in their respective dioceses of creating 
parishes, in accord with the Royal Government. To them ex- 
clusively belongs the right of naming parish priests. Still, in 
case of persons alien to the Kingdom, they shall proceed with 
the consent of the Royal Government; and in the case of Ser- 
bian subjects, tlie Bishops shall ascertain beforehand from the 
competent ministry whether political facts or motives exist 
against them. 

Article 10. The religious instruction of Catholic youth is sub- 
ject to the Archbishop and the Bishop in their respective dio- 
ceses. In state schools it shall be given by catechism teachers 
who shall be nominated, after agreement made in common, by 
the Bishop and the minister of public instruction and worship. 
The Bishops can forbid the giving of religious instruction in 
state schools by catechism teachers who show themselves unfit 
for the mission thus entrusted to them, by informing the min- 
ister of public instruction and worship in order to proceed to 
another nomination. The Royal Government shall pay the cate- 
chism teachers in the state schools. The parish priests shall be 
eligible as catechism teachers. 

Article 11. For the training of young Serbians for the Catho- 
lic priesthood there shall be instituted in or near the capital a 
seminary to which the state shall give an equitable yearly en- 
dowment, the respective ecclesiastical authority having charge 
of organizing and conducting it according to the canonical 
plans. In this seminary the Serbian language shall be the me- 
dium of instruction in non-ecclesiastical subjects. 



[7] 

Article 12. The Royal Government recognizes the validity of 
marriages of Catholics and mixed marriages contracted in pres- 
ence of the Catholic parish priest according to the laws of the 
Church. 

Article 13. Matrimonial causes between Catholics and be- 
tween parties to mixed marriages celebrated before the Catholic 
parish priest, except as far as concerns purely civil matters, 
shall be judged by the Catholic ecclesiastical courts. 

Article 14. The Catholic party shall have legal right to re- 
quire that children born of mixed marriages contracted before 
the Catholic priest shall be brought up in the Catholic religion. 

Article 15. The prayer for the Sovereign, "Domine salvum 
fac Regem," shall be sung at the divine offices in the Slav or the 
Latin language, according to local conditions. 

Article 16. The state recognizes that the Church, represented 
by its legitimate hierarchial orders and authorities, has a true 
and proper judicial personality and capacity for exercising the 
rights which belong to it. 

Article 17. The Church has the right legally to acquire, hold 
and freely administer property, real and personal, destined for 
ends proper to the Church and its institutions in the Kingdom, 
and properties purchased by it and its foundations are invio- 
lable as the private property of citizens of the state. 

Article 18. Property of the Church shall be subject to public 
taxation, excepting always buildings for divine worship, semi- 
naries and palaces of bishops and parish priests, which shall be 
exempt from taxes and can never be converted or employed 
for other use. 

Article 19. Priests and clerics, regular and secular, can never 
be obliged to exercise public functions contrary to their sacred 
ministry and to the sacerdotal life. 

Article 20. In future should any difficulty arise about the in- 
terpretation of the present articles or about questions which 
may happen not to be contemplated in them, the Holy See and 
the Royal Government shall proceed by common accord to an 
amicable solution in harmony with the canon law. 

Article 21. The present convention shall enter into force im- 
mediately after its ratification by His Holiness the Sovereign 
Pontiff and His Majesty the King of Serbia. 

Article 22. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Rome with 
the least possible delay. 

Given at Rome 24 of June, 1914. 

Raffaele Card. Merry del Val. 
Mil. R. Vesnitch. 




[8] 

The Concordat Analyzed 

The clever and eminent prelates who compose the Curia Romana 
drew the foregoing treaty with consummate skill. It was desigjied 
to appear harmless and beneficent. But they were careful to hide 
in it the cancerous germs that would in a generation destroy every 
vestige of patriotism in Serbia. Microscopic examination of die 
document is necessary to detect the germs. 

Sections two and three have the effect of annexin'g Serbia as a 
province to the unique world-encircling Papal Empire and of mak- 
ing the two prelates who reign over that province "depend for ec- 
clesiastical affairs directly and exclusively on the Holy See." 

Section five taps the royal treasury for the salaries of the two 
alien prelates thus enthroned in the capital and Uskub, while sec- 
tion ten permits those prelates to place the entire Roman priesthood 
and the swarms of nuns in the Kingdom then or at any future time 
on the government payroll as catechism teachers in the state schools. 
That section deserves very careful reading. 

Section eleven imposes on Serbia the burden of building and 
maintaining a Roman Catholic seminary at the capital city for the 
training of Roman priests, but the section studiously withholds from 
the government even the slightest measure of authority over the in- 
stitution, which is to be organized and conducted "according to the 
canonical plans." 

Section 13 permits the papal government to establish its own 
courts in Serbia to determine the validity of marriages to which any 
Roman Catholic claims to be a party in interest, and the next sec- 
tion subjects the entire country to the Romish requirement that all 
children born of such marriages shall be trained and brought up in 
the doctrines of popery. 

Section eighteen exempts virtually all Roman Catholic property 
in the Kingdom from taxation, diough the hierarchy and priesthood 
and nuns and teachers in the seminary have their hands deep in the 
national treasury to collect salaries to be fixed by themselves. 

Finally, section twenty binds Serbia to let the Vatican put its own 
construction on the treaty by providing that it shall be construed 
"in harmony with the canon law." Emphasis on that point in the 
text is ours. Running all through the document are school provi- 
sions ample in force to give the two enthroned prelates of Rome 
c/ .control of all state schools under Vatican construction of the treaty 
"in harmony with the canon law." 

This iniquitous yoke was fastened on Serbia in secrecy June. 24, 
1914. Immediately thereafter Roman Catholic mouthpieces here 
and throughout the world boasted of it as a masterpiece of Vatican 
diplomacy, since not over one-third of one per cent of the Serbian 
people were then Roman Catholics. 

That boasting made the secret treaty known in Serbia. Four days 
after the treaty was signed, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Roman 



[9] 

Catholic heir to jhe Austro-Hungarian thone, known to be a secret 

/ party to the policy embodied in the treaty, was driving with his mor- 

I ganatic wife on a prominent street of Serajevo, capital of the little 

\ / subjugated state of Bosnia, when a young Serbian student named 

\ ■ Gavrio Prinzip shot them both to death. 

That tragedy brought from Austria Hungary July 23 an ultimatum 
to Serbia in terms which no independent nation could possibly ac- 
\ cept. The ultimatum required an answer in two days. Answering, 
Serbia accepted all terms that could possibly be accepted and asked 
that the whole matter be referred to The Hague Tribunal or to the 
powers which in 1909 had consented to the incorporation of Bosnia 
and Herzegovena into the Hapsburg Empire. Declarations of war 
quicklj f ollow ed ^indjhe awf i^ was upon mankind. 

I Ultimatum and Answer 

A Berlin cable dispatch dated July 23 and published in the New 
York Times of July 24 reported that at 6 P. M. that day Austria 
Hungary had sent to Serbia an ultimatum couched in hot words and 
requiring answer within forty-eight hours. The dispatch summed 
up the demands of the ultimatum as follows: 

It demands punishment of all accomplices in the murder of Fran- 
cis Ferdinand and the suppression of societies unfriendly to Austria 
Hungary, publication in the Government paper at Belgrade of offi- 
cial disavowal and regret, and that Austria Hungary send officials 
into Serbia to participate in the trial of all suspects. 

A London dispatch dated July 26 and published in the same New 
York paper on July 27 said that Serbia had returned answer to the 
ultimatum, that the answer was couched in conciliatory terms and 
accepted all demands except that requiring Austro-Hungarian offi- 
cers to participate in the trials, that Serbia asks what part such offi- 
cers are to take in the trials, and pleads, in case her answer is deemed 
insufficient or unsatisfactory, that the whole matter be referred to 
The Hague tribunal or to the powers which had signed the declara- 
tion of 1909 delivering Bosnia and Herzegovena over the Hapsburg 
Empire. 

The societies of which Austria Hungary in her ultimatum de- 
manded the suppression were the organizations formed to foster as- 
pirations of the little Serbian states then groaning under the Haps- 
burg yoke for union with their independent Serbian kinsmen in a 
Serbian community enjoying independence or at least autonomous 
right to determine its own government and destiny. 

As, the great military forces of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 

immediately menaced Serbia and threatened its capital, Belgrade, 

I Russia, akin to Serbia by both blood and religion, began to mobilize 

1 its armies for the defense of its helpless little kinsman. Under pre- 

^ tense that the Russian mobilization menaced Germany as well as 

Austria, the German imperial government demanded that Russia im- 



[10] 

mediately demobilize and that the impending conflict be confined to 
Austria and Serbia. 

Well aware how quickly Serbia would perish before the vast mili- 
tary power of Austria Hungary with twenty times its population, 
Russia declined to demobilize. Thereupon, Germany declared war 
on Russia August 1 and the same day began the movement against 
France because that republic had been for years in alliance with 
Russia and was deemed at Berlin and Vienna and Rome the more 
vulnerable of the two powers. 

The Pope Opposed Mercier 

As the Kaiser's armies swept with ruinous devastation into little 
Belgium whose neutrality he had assumed a treaty obligation to de- 
fend, the Vatican gave renewed evidence of its secret alliance with 
the central empires and its wanton contempt for the Roman Catholic 
population of Belgium when their liberty and tlieir homes stood in 
the way of papal ambitions and infamy. 

When Cardinal Mercier, Roman Catholic primate of Belgium, pro- 
tested the ruin of that country by German soldiery, the present Sov- 
ereign Pontiff did not conceal his hot anger for what he designated 
as "Cardinal Mercier's excessive activity." The following special 
cable dispatch to the New York Times of April 13, 1916, discloses 
the base hostility of the Holy See toward the patriotic attitude of 
Mercier : 

"London, April 12. — According to reports circulating in Vatican 
circles the Pope is annoyed by what is called there 'Cardinal Mer- 
cier's excessive activity.' He sent a fresh message of moderation to 
the Belgian Primate, but so far the Pontiff has resisted pressure from 
many quarters to disavow Monsignor Mercier's attitude. 

"The Pontiff does not wish to resort to any action which might 
imperil even apparently the neutrality of the Holy See, but he firmly 
believes that the resurrection of Belgium is not being assisted by the 
hostile attitude of the population to the present occupation, which, 
it is held, can only delay it by hindering the efforts of those work- 
ing for its attainment." 

It is perfectly manifest from the foregoing dispatch that the Pope 
then cherished confidence that the central empires would win the 
war and that Belgium was one of the pawns of which the victors 
would dispose. With that expectation he reprobated the patriotic 
attitude of Mercier in opposition to the rape of Belgium because 
that attitude was troublesome to the invaders who were in collusion 
"* with the Holy See. 

Treason of Papal Chamberlain 

But other facts demonstrate the secret alliance of the Holy See 
with the central empires still more conclusively. Not the least of 
them was the treason plotted by Monsignor Gerlach, grand cham- 



[11] 

berlain to the Pope, in the Vatican palace, which caused the de- 
struction by explosion of two Italian battleships after Italy entered 
the war. The explosions occurred in September, 1915, and in Au- 
gust, 1916, after Italy had declared war on Austria Hungary in May 
of the former year. The more salient of the facts appear in the 
following Rome dispatch under date of January 8, 1917, which ap- 
peared next day in the New York Times: 

"Rome, January 8. — More than forty persons are now in prison 
as a result of the investigations into the destruction in September, 
1915, and August, 1916, respectively, of the Italian battleships "Ben- 
edetto Brin" and "Leonardo da Vinci." The latter was blown up 
in Taranto Harbor, and 248 men perished. 

"Lieutenant General Count Cadorna, Chief of Staff, came to Rome 

on Thursday to attend a meeting of the Cabinet which was held for 

the purpose of deciding upon the disposition of the prisoners, but 

/ the question has become a political one from the introduction into 

\j the case of one of the officials of the Vatican. 

"An Italian named Ambrogetti, who was among those charged 
with being implicated in the destruction of the warships, asserts that 
he was the financial agent of Mgr. Gerlach, Pope Benedict's private 
chamberlain. Mgr. Gerlach is an Austrian, and, according to in- 
formation here, was once a cavalry officer, who became a priest and 
won the favor of the present Pope when the latter was a cardinal. 
He was the bearer of the red hat from the Pope to the three French 
cardinals who were appointed at the December Consistory. 

"It has been learned that Mgr. Gerlach, prior to Italy's entry into 
the war, was interested in a pro-Austrian paper at Vittoria, of which 
Ambrogetti was manager. 

"The Italian authorities have learned details of the plot which 
ended in the destruction of the two battleships from the Italian au- 
thor, Archita Arlente, who was arrested some months ago. The 
suspicion that the explosions on the ships were due to a conspiracy 
originated from the fact that certain naval machinists were aboard 
the ships at the time of their destruction, and on each occasion es- 
caped uninjured. They were followed to Valente's house and were 
there arrested." 

After appearing inconspicuously in the New York Times, the 

\ ' foregoing information was afterwards excluded from the daily and 

magazine press. Though fraught with infinite significance, it was 

. suppressed by the papal censor of the press. No editorial writer or 

A historian has been permitted in four years to discuss or mention it. 

! ' Even the merest allusion to the matter has been prohibited except a 

brief paragraph at rare intervals which escaped the attention of the 

censor and appeared on the inside pages of one or two daily papers. 

It seems impossible that the Pope could be ignorant of the treason 

thus plotted for nearly a year in his own palace by his alien grand 

i chamberlain. But the archtraitor was permitted, if not actually 



[12] 

aided by him, to escape into Switzerland and thus to escape just 
punishment by becoming a fugitive. The following brief Berlin 
dispatch appeared in the New York Times January 11 of the same 
year: 

"Berlin, January 10. — The Prelate Knight von Gerlach (Mgr. 
Gerlach), First Acting Private Chamberlain to His Holiness, has 
been forced to leave Rome and has arrived at Lugano (Switzer- 
land). He was the only German prelate in the Pope's retinue." 

In the throes of the world's greatest war, Italy naturally resented 
deeply the monstrous treason of which Gerlach was thus the direct- 
ing head and disbursing paymaster. The source of the money with 
which he financed the treason and paid its actual perpetrators has 
never been disclosed. It may have come from Vatican hordes that 
have remained for centuries uncounted. 

The Vatican was powerless to keep the Italian Parliament from 
discussing the Gerlach treason, though reports of such discussion 
were excluded from the great international news gathering organ- 
izations. Only papers partially defiant of the papal censorship, like 
the New York Times, dared to publish the facts at all. On March 
10, Deputy Felice referred to the matter in the lower house of the 
Parliament, and the following brief dispatch appeared in the New 
York Times of the next day: 

"Rome, March 10. — For two days Deputy Felice has brought be- 
fore the Chamber accusations against supposed German spies still 
living in Italy and occupying responsible positions. The most sen- 
sational accusation is that regarding Monsignor Gerlach because of 
the post of confidence he held at the Vatican where he was personally 
trusted by the Pope. 

"Anti-clerical elements take advantage of this and similar occur- 
rences to agitate against the Vatican." 

Though a fugitive and in enemy territory, Gerlach was promptly 
tried by an Italian court of justice pursuant to the law of that coun- 
try and was convicted of high treason and sentenced to the extreme 
penalty June 26 following detection of his infamy, according to a 
report in the New York Times of June 27, 1917. 

The treachery of Roman Catholic chaplains in the Italian army 
which caused the most crucial and disastrous reverse which that 
country suffered during the war and the spread of Vatican intrigue 
into other belligerent lands wall be given in future numbers of this 
journal with all the fullness that space will permit. Call attention 
of your friends to the disclosures here made and preserve the files 
of this journal as the information given in this series of discussions 
cannot be obtained elsewhere. 

The Pope's Peace Note 

The astute politicians who compose the Curia Romana, or papal 
court, disclosed the secret sympathy and collusion of the Holy 



[ 13 ] 

See with the central empires during the World War when they sub- 
mitted to the world in August, 1917, the document known as the 
Pope's peace note. The subject-matter of the note, considered in 
relation to the military conditions and outlook when tEe Sovereign 
Pontiff uttered it, betrays unmistakably the effort of the papal court 
to benefit and save the Pope's imperial allies at Vienna and Berlin, 

The war was three years old when the peace note was submitted. 
In the early months and years of the stupendous conflict, superb 
preparation of the central powers and almost total lack of prepara- 
tion on the part of their adversaries gave a striking measure of suc- 
cess to the Teutonic and Turkish arms. Until the year 1917 when 
America entered the war the armies of the Kaiser were on the soil 
of their enemies and the German colonial empire was yet intact ex- 
cept for the injury it had received in the Far East at Japanese hands. 

But in the summer of that year the flower of American manhood 
was training for active service, our navy was already active and the 
tremendous wealth and power of the United States was sustaining 
the morale of our cobelligerents and providing the sinews of war. 
In that situation, the masterful diplomats at the Vatican, Vienna and 
Berlin saw the awful gravity of the future outlook to their cause. 

Manifestly, the central empires could hope for the triumph of 
their arms and the domination of the peace conference by them as 
victors only by ending the struggle before the soldiery of the United 
States could reach the battle-fronts. In that gloomy predicament 
our enemies resorted to the peace note in hope of bringing the hos- 
tilities to a close while they were triumphant. 

Rumors at the time which eluded censorship alleged that the note 
was actually conceived and drafted in Switzerland by the General 
oFthe Jesuits, known as the "Black Pope,'' together with represeiita- 
tives of the Teutonic Empires. The time and substance of the note 
would seem to lend plausibility to the rumor. The public will prob- 
ably never be permitted to know the origin of the renowned docu- 
ment nor who wrote it. Couched in language of the deceptive fer- 
vor in which Jesuitism is so skilled, it was given to the world in 
August, 1917. It is found in the Congressional Record of August 
22 at page 6847, and the portion of it dealing with terms of peace 
reads as follows: 

Basis of Just Peace 

But in order no longer to speak in general terms as the cir- 
cumstances had counseled us in the past, we now wish to make 
a more concrete and practical proposal and to invite the gov- 
ernments of the belligerents to come to an agreement upon the 
following points which seem to be a basis of a just and durable 
peace, leaving to them the task of analyzing and completing 
them. 

First of all, the fundamental points must be that the material 
force of arms be substituted by the moral force of right, from 



[14] 

which shall arise a fair agreement by all for the simultaneous 
and reciprocal diminution of armaments, according to the rules 
and guarantees to be established, in a measure necessary and 
sufficient for the maintenance of public order in each State, 

Then in the substitution for armies the institution of arbitra- 
tion with its high pacifying function, according to the rules to 
be laid down and the penalties to be imposed on a State which 
would refuse either to submit a national question to arbitration 
or to accept its decision. 

Once the supremacy of right has thus been established all 
obstacles to the means of conununication of the peoples would 
disappear by assuring, by rules to be fixed later, the true lib- 
erty and community of the seas which would contribute to the 
numerous causes of conflict and would also open to all new 
sources of prosperity and progress. 

Would Forgive Damages 

As to the damages to be repaired and as to the war expenses, 
we see no other means of solving the question than by submit- 
ting as a general principle the complete and reciprocal condo- 
nation, which would be justified, moreover, by the immense 
benefit to be derived from disarmament, so much so that no one 
V^ will undertake the continuation of a similar carnage solely for 
reasons of an economic order. 

If for certain cases there exist particular reasons, they should 
be deliberated upon with justice and equity, but these pacific 
agreements, with the immense advantages to be derived from 
them, are not possible without reciprocal restitution of the terri- 
tory at present occupied. 

Consequently, on the part of Germany, the complete evacua- 
tion of Belgium, with the guaranty of her full political, mili- 
tary and economic independence toward it. 

The evacuation of French territory. On the part of other 
belligerent parties similar restitution of the German colonies. 

Equity for Territorial Issue 

As regards the territorial questions, as, for example, those 
which have arisen between Italy and Austria and between Ger- 
many and France, there is reason to hope that in consideration 
of the immense advantages of a durable peace with disarma- 
ment, the parties in conflict would wish to examine them with a 
conciliatory disposition, taking into consideration, as we have 
said formerly, the aspirations of the people and the special in- 
terests and the general welfare of the great human society. 

The same spirit of equity and justice ought to be followed in 
the examination of other territorial and political questions, not- 
ably those relative to America and the Balkan States and terri- 



[15] 

tories making a part of the ancient Kingdom of Poland, whose 
noble and historical traditions and sufferings which it has en- 
dured, especially during the present war, ought to conciliate the 
sympathies of nations. 

Such are the principal bases whereupon we believe the future 

reorganization of the peoples ought to be built. They are of a 

nature to render impossible the return of similar conflicts and 

V, to prepare a solution of the economic question so important for 

f \ the future and for the material well-being of all belligerent 

States. 

Therefore in presenting to you, who direct at this hour the 
\ destinies of the belligerent nations, we are animated to see them 
' accepted and to see thus the conclusion at an early date of the 
I terrible struggle which more and more appears a useless mas- 
•* sacre. 

Honor of all Safe 

The whole world recognizes that the honor of the armies of 
both sides is safe. Incline your ears, therefore, to our prayer. 
Accept the fraternal invitation which we send you in the name 
of the Divine Redeemer, the Prince of Peace. Reflect on your 
very grave responsibility before God and before man. 

On your decision depends the repose and the joy of innumer- 
able families, the life of thousands of young people; in a word, 
the happiness of a people for whom it is your absolute duty to 
obtain their welfare. 

May the Lord inspire your decision in conformity to His very 
holy will. May God grant that while meriting the applause of 
your contemporaries you will also obtain in the future genera- 
tions a splendid name of pacificators. 

As for us, closely united in prayer and in penitence with all 
those faithful souls which sigh for peace, we implore for you 
the light and counsel of the Divine Spirit. 

Benedict. 

At the Vatican, August 1. 

The fervent words in which the foregoing document is clothed 
contrast strangely with the brutal inhumanity of its proposals. 
Though the cruel march of imperial soldiery had turned neutral and 
unoffending Belgium into a wilderness of ruin and desolation and 
had inflicted on all northern France devastation that can never be 
effaced, while the soil of the central powers was untouched by hos- 
tile forces, the papal note proposes that damages so Hun-like in 
savagery and so inexcusable should be freely and entirely condoned 
and forgiven in toto. 

Under his base proposals the Pope's imperial allies were to retire 
as victors and go un whipped of justice. No reparations were to be 
asked or received. Those who had wreaked upon helpless and neu- 



[16] 

tral Belgium outrages so monstrous were to sit in honor and in tri- 
umph at the peace conference and dictate, under menace of their 
triumphant arms, the final conditions of peace. The author of pro- 
posals so base could have but one incentive — to protect his imperial 
allies from the punishment they so richly deserved. 

Caporetta Debacle Caused by Priests 

Another important link in the chain of evidence that convicts the 
Holy See of secret collusion with our enemies has to do with the 
sudden and terrible disaster which Italy suffered at Caporetta, Oc- 
tober 24, 1917. By valor and engineering feats seldom paralleled 
in brilliancy, the Italians planted heavy artillery and equipment in 
strategical mountain heights in their advance against Austrian and 
German forces. 

But the world was appalled to learn that they had suddenly been 
hurled hack in defeat that seemed final and irreprievable at the 
time. In view of the constant Roman Catholic clamor which was 
evidentlv inspired in Rome for the Pope to have a seat in the peace 
conference, and in view of the known determination of Italy that he 
should be excluded from that body, discriminating people generally 
suspected that clerical treachery was responsible for the sudden 
calamity which threatened to remove Italy from the war, the peace 
conference and the world. 

The Italian people themselves, who had better opportunity than 
any others to observe the Vatican, felt throughout the war that Pope 
Benedict XV was strongly in sympathy if not in secret collusion 
with the enemy. But the August number, 1918, of that high-class 
monthly magazine known as The World's Work, published a mas- 
terful statement prepared by William Roscoe Thayer on "Italy's 
Great Service in the War." Mr. Thayer is conceded to be an au- 
thority on Italian affairs, knowing more of the politics and prob- 
lems of that country probably than any other American knows. 
Discussing the debacle at Caporetta, he wrote in part as follows: 

Thayer's Statement of Facts 

Many clericals sided with the Teutons as a matter of course, 
for Austria was the chief Catholic nation in Europe. Since his 
election the Italians have believed, on what evidence does not 
'' appear, that Pope Benedict XV is pro-German. He belonged to 
one of the old reactionary aristocratic families of Genoa — 
nobles who correspond in spirit to the Junkers of Prussia. It 
is believed in Italy that the Pope has been promised by both the 
German and the Austrian Kaisers that they would restore his 
temporal power at the end of the war. The Ultramontane Diet 
of Bavaria openly announced that this was one of the aims of 
the war. The failure of the Pope to protest against the atroci- 



[ 17 ] 

I ties of the Huns, or to rank himself squarely from the begin- 
\ ning on the side of the people struggling in behalf of Christian 
civilization, seemed to justify the assumption of the Italians 
that he was against the allies ; and the fact that he put forth ap- 
peals for peace, precisely at those times when the peace he advo- 
cated would mean a complete victory for the Germans, strength- 
\j ened the suspicion of his pro-German desires. 

Lies and Starvation Affect the Army 

Needless to say the head of this octopus of treachery and dis- 
cord was the German propaganda, which used now one tenacle 
and now another. It went so far as to concoct a fake copy of -^ 
the Secolo newspaper of Milan in which among genuine news it 
published such lies as that the French had turned against the 
Italians, had captured Turin and were besieging Milan; also 
that the Austrians yearned for peace and wished to fraternize 
with their Italian brothers. And, in fact, when the Austrians 
advanced on the fatal morning of October 24, they threw up 
their hands and shouted "Kamerad!" The Italians laid down 
their weapons and advanced to meet the Austrians, and then the 
Germans, who had been screened behind the Austrians, rushed 
forward, opened fire, and the panic began. For months pre- 
vious to this, priests who served as chaplains, and insidious lay 
propagandists whispered disloyalty into the ears of the troops. 
An officer, who was with the army at that time, has told me that 
the Pope's message created a most depressing effect among 
them. It turned their thoughts away from the unyielding prose- 
cution of the war to the acceptance of peace — peace on any 
terms, regardless of consequences. 

The gradual diminishing of rations caused a slackening of 
determination and morale. A soldier requires a modicum of 
food in order to maintain his resolve at the highest pitch; slow 
starvation saps valor. You can judge how near the Italian sol- 
diers were to starvation when you know that for awhile before 
Caporetto some of the troops were reduced to seven dried chest- 
nuts apiece for their morning ration. More even than for them- 
selves they worried over the destitution of their wives and chil- 
dren from whom they had infrequent or no news. The rumor 
■ that several officers proved traitors at the moment of the Hun's 
camouflaged attack has not yet been fully verified. But there 
is reason to believe in its truth because a dozen or more of the 
suspected traitors were shot. 

/ The swaggering assertion and ceaseless reiteration by papal 

I mouthpiece that the Pope was neutral cannot remove the stubborn 

record of incriminating facts. No censorship or suppression can 

\ entirely conceal those facts from an intelligent and discriminating 



[18] 

public. Everywhere that Vatican influence could be secretly ex- 
erted the same record of treachery and collusion with the enemy 
appears. 

Attention will now be directed to the infamy and conviction of 
two renowned Roman Catholics who appalled the world and out- 
raged every sense of honor in the effort to betray their own coun- 
tries into enemy hands by the boldest kind of conspiracy, with 
f which the Pope is specifically connected by press reports. The two 
papists referred to were Sir Roger Casement of Ireland and Paul 
Bolo, better known as Bolo Pasha, of France. 

j Treason of Roger Casement 

In no part of the world is Roman Catholic political fanaticism 
more rampant and lawless than in Ireland. Ready to intrigue and 
to fight for every political ambition of the Sovereign Pontiff, Papal- 
Ireland, now dominated and terrorized by Sinn Fein, opened secret 
negotiations with Berlin very early in the World War. 

Though previously honored with knighthood by the British Gov- 
ernment, Sir Roger Casement stole away and secretly entered Ger- 
\1 many to consummate the Papal-Irish infamy and conspiracy. He 
chose the time when Teutonic success was at floodtide and the life 
of the British nation and the destiny of liberty and civilization hung 
by a slender thread. 

He plotted with the German imperial government for the release 
of all British prisoners who would renounce their British allegiance 
and join the Irish legion pledged to fight for the Kaisers and Sultan. 
It was mutually agreed that any prisoners rejecting the infamous 
proposals should be subjected to increased austerity of treatment at 
German hands. 

The men so released were returning to Ireland on a tramp steamer 
which also carried a cargo of arms and munitions and was convoyed 
by a German submarine which carried Casement himself. As the 
tramp steamer fell into the hands of the British navy her crew blew 
up the vessel and became prisoners of war, but the submarine landed 
Casement in safety, after which he was arrested, tried, convicted and 
hanged for treason. 

A London dispatch in the New York Herald on August 8, 1916, 
which was the day of his execution, contained the following state- 
ment regarding his crimes and the refusal of the government to 
grant clemency and prevent execution of his sentence: 

In explanation of the government's refusal to reprieve Case- 
ment, Lord Robert Cecil gave out the following statement: 

"No doubt of Casement's guilt exists. No one doubts that the 
court and jury arrived at the right verdict. The only ground 
for a reprieve would be political expediency, a difficult ground 
to put forward in this country. 



[19] 

"This country never could strain the law to punish a man for 
the same reason that it could not stain the law to let one off. 

Casement's Part in Rebellion 

"The Irish rebellion began with the murder of unarmed per- 
sons, both soldiers and police. No grievance justified it and it 
was purely a political movement organized by a small section 
of Irish people who still hate England and was assisted by Ger- 
many. 

"There was and is in this country the greatest possible indig- 
nation against these persons. There is no doubt that Case- 
ment did everything possible to assist this rebellion in coopera- 
tion with the Germans. There can be no doubt that he was 
moved by enmity for this country. 

"The contention that he landed in Ireland for the purpose of 
preventing the rebellion is demonstrably false. No such asser- 
tion was made by counsel at the trial. 

"Casement was much more malignant and hostile to this coun- 
try than were the leaders of the rising who were caught with 
arms in their hands. He went to military prisons in Germany 
with the intention of persuading Irish soldiers to throw off their 
allegiance. All sorts of promises were made for the improve- 
ment of the condition of these men to induce them to join the 
Irish legion. An enormous majority thus approached refused 
and thereafter were subjected to increased hardships by the Ger- 
mans. 

"From among these Irish soldiers a number have since been 
repatriated as hopeless invalids and they subsequently died. 
They looked upon Casement as their murderer. 

"Nor is there any ground, public or private, so far as we 
know, which can be quoted in mitigation of Casement's crime, 
and I do not think any government doing its duty could inter- 
fere with the sentence which has been passed on him." 

Casement as Leader in the Irish Thought 

Honored with knighthood — a title since taken from him by 
King George's order — for his many years of service for Great 
Britain as Consul and Consul-General, Roger Casement assumed 
leadership, at a period of his country's crisis, in the recent Irish 
rebellion, the plot of which was completed while Casement was 
in Berlin, where he was reported to have negotiated an under- 
standing with the German imperial authorities. 

British naval supremacy brought an abortive close to Case- 
ment's schemes. The German tramp steamship on board which 
there was transported an armed expedition from Germany 
nearly to the west coast of Ireland in April of this year was 
blown up by its own crew when the latter foresaw that it was 



[20] 

inevitable that the blockading British warships would capture 
it. The crew were made prisoners. The tramp had been con- 
voyed from Kiel by a German submarine, from which Case- 
ment and a companion landed on Irish soil, where they were 
taken into custody before their plot matured. 

In May Casement had a preliminary hearing and was com- 
mitted for trial on the charge of high treason. Late in June the 
trial was begun. Casement pleading not guilty and uttering a de- 
nial that he had worked in Germany's interests and that he had 
accepted German gold as a bribe. 

The Court's verdict was guilty, and the sentence of death by 
hanging was, after appeal by his counsel, confirmed by the 
Court of Criminal Appeal late in July. 

Pursuant to the prudent and diplomatic policy of the British gov- 
ernment amidst the world cataclysm. Lord Cecil studiously abstained 
from any allusion to the Vatican in his statement as here quoted. 
But the statement as it appeared in the New York Herald quoted 
Casement's attorney as declaring that he died a Roman Catholic. 

Moreover, debates of Parliament contain specific allegations by 
Ulster members that the Pope was in collusion with the enemy dur- 
ing the war. It was only the Roman Catholic portion of Ireland 
which engaged in the Casement conspiracy. Protestant Ulster was 
loyal then as it is now to the cause for which we and our co-bel- 
ligerents fought. 

It was the Roman Catholic and Sinn Fein portion of the Irish 
people who refused to volunteer for military service or to permit 
enforcement of the draft law which compelled all other British lands 
to fight for liberty and civilization. Statistics made public by Nor- 
man Murry, a Canadian authority and journalist, during the war 
show that enlistments in Ulster were nine times as numerous in pro- 
portion to population as in Sinn Fein Ireland. 

That is the reason Sir Roger Casement found comparatively few 
Irish in German prisons ready to betray their country into the 
hand of its enemy. Most of them were Protestants from northern 
Ireland and were therefore honest and patriotic. The Roman Cath- 
olics were slackers and stayed at home. Because of that fact, Case- 
ment and the German imperial government, both in collusion with 
the Holy See, plotted against the unyielding prisoners such cruelty 
as cost many of their lives. Those prisoners were Protestants from 
Ulster. 

The Khedive, the Pope and Bolo Pasha 

But the treason of which Roman Catholic Bolo Pasha was con- 
victed and for which he was executed was at once bold and sinister 
with ramifications which involved high officials in both Europe and 
America, including a brother of Pope Benedict and even the Pope 
himself more or less directly in the sphere of his operations. 



[21] 

The true name of that archtraitor and conspirator was Paul Bole. 
He was a brother of Roman Catholic Archbishop Bolo. Commun- 
ity of rascality and intrigue between Paul Bolo and Abbas Hilmi, 
former Khedive of Egypt, caused the Khedive to bestow upon the 
French papist the Mohammedan title of Pasha. 

After the conviction and execution of Bolo by French authorities, 
his extraordinary career of world-wide conspiracy and treason was 
discussed in most of the magazines as well as in the daily press, but 
papal censorship absolutely withheld from the public one of the 
/ most stunning facts in the whole astounding record — personal aid of 
the Pope and his brother, the Marquis della Chiesa, to his plottings. 

But the New York American of October 28, 1917, shortly before 
the trial, was permitted to state some of the more salient facts in 
language designed to exculpate the Sovereign Pontiff. That state- 
ment reads in part as follows: 

(ByC. F. Bertelli.) 

Paris, October 6. — The arrest of Bolo Pasha, following the 
receipt of a cablegram from M. Jusserand, French Ambassador 
at Washington, that he had been paid 10,000,000 francs in Ger- 
man money in New York, has plunged France into one of the 
greatest scandals of modern times. 

Paul Bolo — his title of Pasha was conferred upon him by 
Abbas Hilmi, the deposed Khedive of Egypt — was universally 
known as "the modern Monte Cristo." His amazing career, 
which carried him from a medium social status to great wealth, 
then down to poverty, and finally up again to great riches and 
distinction, brought him into contact with at least two monarchs 
and some of the most prominent bankers, public men and citi- 
zens of many countries. 

And now comes the amazing denouncement, a charge of trea- 
son is being pushed against him with the greatest vigor, 

» 
Dishes of Gold 

His home in the Rue de Phalsbourg, in the monceau quarter, 
is one of the most magnificent in France. He dined off gold 
plate. His salons were the rendezvous of much of the brains 
and talent and beauty of France. This he changed shortlv be- 
fore his arrest for a room at the Grand Hotel over the Cafe de 
la Paix. From there, a pitiable figure suffering from nervous 
exhaustion and uraemia, he was borne by the police on a 
stretcher, a white sheet covering him from head to foot. As he 
thus passed out, an infuriated crowd attempted to get at him to 
tear him to pieces, amid cries of "Throw the traitor into the 
Seine." 

Not an hour before, his brother, M. Bolo, Archbishop and 
one of the most promising men in the Catholic Church, called to 



[22] 

see him on his sick bed at a moment when he was subject to ter- 
rible public odium, after an estrangement of many years. In- 
tense grief and pity were written on the prelate's face as he 
emerged from the small bedroom and said to the waiting 
crowd: "The tribunals of the land and his God will judge him. 
For myself, I go home to pray." 

Faces Death Penalty 

The precise charge against Bolo Pasha is that of "intelligence 
with the enemy." This is the gravest of all accusations that can 
be brought against a French subject in time of war. If found 
guilty, the penalty is death. It differs from the accusation of 
"trading with the enemy," which merely involves a long term of 
imprisonment and a heavy fine. 

The Bolo case is in the hands of Captain Bouchardon, of the 
Third Court-Martial of Paris. 

The interrogatory of the Pasha has not been carried far 
enough to disclose the main line of his defense. However, at 
this stage, there seems little doubt that he actually did cash in 
S2,000.000 from banks in New York through J. P. Morgan and 
Co., and the Bank of Canada's New York agency, and also that 
he received moneys amounting to not less than 2,000,000 marks 
from enemy sources in Switzerland. 

There still remain the very important questions: (1) for 
what purposes did he receive this money? and (2) what did he 
do with it? 

For good or ill, this sensational case has been sprung on the 
public at a moment when the French nation is displaying a 
heroism and staunchness at which the whole world marvels, and 
at a time when the glorious Republican army, after three years 
of magnificent battle is slowly expelling the German invader 
from France. Already impassioned voices are being raised in 
Paris to prevent the impending Bolo revelations from be- 
smirching France's fair record of bravery and unity in this war. 
It says much for the courage and determination of M. Pain- 
leve. Premier and Minister of War. that his first great step in 
his term of office has been to insist that the whole truth shall be 
told. He and his colleagues feel that the Republic is strong 
enough to cleanse its Augean Stables. He has dismissed the 
question of expediency and adopted the formula of one of his 
ministers of State, Louis Barthau, "Vite et tout" (clean up 
everything quickly and completely). 

His Investments 

As to the details of Bolo Pasha's international activities, cer- 
tain facts are known which in themselves seem to have no trea- 
sonable bearing. For instance, he invested $1,100,000 in the 



[23] 

strongly and consistently patriotic Paris newspaper, Le journal, 
without making any effort to influence its editor and part owner, 
Senator Charles Humbert, in the direction of weakening his 
trenchant win-the-war campaign. 

He invested 170,000 francs in Le Rappel, the leading plank 
of whose platform is to win back Alsace-Lorraine for France. 

He invested 3,000,000 francs in a Spanish shipping com- 
pany, with headquarters at Barcelona and no treasonable mo- 
tive has been alleged in this connection. 

He invested 1,475,000 francs in a great munitions-making 
plant just outside Paris. 

He donated 5,000 francs to a prominent Frenchman in letters 
who has for some time carried on highly patriotic work in 
France's interest with the United States. 

The prosecution asserts that the 10,000,000 francs of Ger- 
man money received by Bolo in New York was turned over to 
him by a banker named Pavenstedt in February, 1916. 

Of all the above-mentioned investments the one that has ex- 
cited the most discussion is that made in the Paris Journal, for 
it has involved the proprietor. Senator Humbert, in bitter at- 
tacks from his enemies in the Paris press. It was, indeed, 
through these personal enmities that the public, a couple of 
months ago, first began to get wind of the charges against Bolo 
Pasha, although Captain Bouchardon's investigation began as 
early as last spring. 

Jacques Dhur, a prominent writer in Le Journal before Sena- 
tor Humbert assumed the direction of the publication, who now 
conducts, a newspaper of his own, I'Eviel, began by asking in 
his columns a mysterious question as to 6,000,000 francs of 
tainted money invested in Le Journal. Next day Gustave Tery, 
for some years the writer of a daily article in Le Journal until 
Senator Humbert took control and now the editor of a lively 
Paris daily, VOeuvre, seized upon Jacques Dhur's innuendo and 
summoned Senator Humbert to disclose the facts of the trans- 
action. 

All Paris waited a few days, and then Charles Humbert gave 
the expected explanation. It was that Bolo had indeed in- 
vested five and a half million francs in Le Journal, but the Sen- 
ator insisted that it was an express condition of the contract 
with Bolo that the latter should not have the slightest voice in 
the policies of the paper. 

The Senator's explanation showed immediately that other 
people were involved. He very carefully made it plain that 
although such a course of action was unusual, he took the pre- 
caution of inquiring of "a very considerable personality" what 
was the standing of Bolo Pasha. The personage replied: "I 
have known Bolo for several years and have implicit faith in 
his patriotism. You can safely take his money." 



24 



Khedive Under Spell 



This naturally aroused tremendous curiosity as to who was 
the "considerable personality" and to cut a very long story 
short, it turned out to be Judge Monier, President of the Paris 
Court of Appeals. In subsequent articles in Le journal. Sena- 
tor Humbert announced his intention of immediately handing 
Bolo's five and a half million francs to the public authorities. 

Judge Monier's story has not yet been heard. He is a bril- 
liant, forceful man of great forensic ability. In his defense 
the judge is expected to make it clear whether he knew anything 
of Bolo Pasha's dealings in Constantinople and Cairo. 

Prior to the war Bolo was introduced to Abbas Hilmi, the 
then Khedive, who rapidly fell under the influence of the un- 
doubted charm of the Frenchman's manner. The Egyptian 
ruler became disturbed over the European outlook and Bolo 
submitted to him a contract enabling him to take care of his 
wealth in the event of international troubles. 

Then came the war bringing with it Abbas Hilmi's flight to 
Constantinople and afterward to Vienna and thence to Lau- 
sanne. It was in those early days of the war that the ex-Khe- 
dive conferred upon Bolo the title of Pasha. 

In November, 1914, Bolo dispatched an Italian friend, Com- 
mendatore Cavallini, to Constantinople to present to the Khe- 
dive two letters, one of which stated that the Khedive admitted 
owing Bolo ten million dollars and the other being an under- 
taking by Bolo to refund this sum to the Khedive. This was 
apparently an eff'ort to save the ex-Khedive's property in Egypt 
from permanent sequestration. 

Bolo then arranged for a meeting between himself and Sadik 
Pasha, Counsellor to Abbas Hilmi, at Rome, for February 1, 
1915. The meeting took place in the Hotel Excelsior, and there 
Bolo unfolded to the Egyptian potentate's representative a plan 
for the foundation of a Catholic bank in Switzerland, which 
/ under the guise of disseminating religious propaganda was to 
act as a central fiscal agent for German publicity. Off'hand, 
Bolo suggested 50,000,000 francs as the necessary capital for 
such an institution. Sadik Pasha presented the proposition to 
the ex-Khedive, who traveled to Vienna to meet him. But Ab- 
bas Hilmi refused to entertain the offer. 

BoLo's Proposition 

Bolo then made another proposition to Sadik Pasha, namely, 
I to purchase interests in a number of the leading newspapers in 
J France, on the ground that such ownership would guarantee the 
insertion of certain articles favorable to Germany and a Ger- 
man peace. 



[25] 

Abbas Hilmi's counsellor favored this proposition and called 
in for consultation Count Monts, former German Ambassador 
at Rome. Sadik Pasha went to Berlin to see Foreign Minister 
Von Jagow, who had already heard of the proposition and who 
then said: "We are ready to put up 10,000,000 marks payable 
1,000,000 monthly." Sadik returned to Vienna and from there 
telegraphed to his correspondent at Milan to inform Bolo that 
he had a communication of the highest importance to make to 
him. 

On March 16, 1915, Abbas Hilmi, accompanied by a French 
opera singer. Mile. Lusauges, and Chefik Pasha, arrived at the 
Hotel Savoy, Zurich, where Bolo had already installed himself 
with Commendatora Cavallini. Whether or not it was a coinci- 
dence, it is a fact that Herr Erzberger, leader of the German 
/ Catholic Party, was at that time stopping at the Hotel Du Saint 
Gothard, at Zurich, and Bolo introduced him to various friends. 

Next day, March 17, a conference was held at the Savoy, at 
which Mile. Lusauges was present, but from which Erzberger 
was excluded. It is alleged that Bolo then agreed to accept 
1,000,000 marks monthly as promised by the German Foreign 
Minister, but declared that the amount was insufficient. 

The First Million 

On March 21, the Khedive received the first million marks 
from the Dresdner Bank and forwarded it to an intermediary 
in Italy to be paid over to Bolo. The latter, however, refused 
to collect from this source, and the Khedive, with Sadik, went 
back to Zurich where it is said both Abbas Hilmi and his coun- 
sellor began by deducting 100,000 francs commission. 

It was arranged that future remittances from Berlin would 
be deposited at a Geneva bank, where Bolo explained that the 
money represented the ex-Khedive's personal fortune, over 
which he (Bolo) had control. Bolo, instead of returning to 
Paris to carry out his mission, bought property at Biarratz for 
half a million francs and various other smaller properties for 
lesser sums. 

A second remittance of 2,000,000 marks came from Berlin 
and it is said that Abbas Hilmi and Sadik again deducted 
50,000 francs commission each. 

There the unofficial story of Bolo's relation with the Egyptian 
'• ends. None of these statements have been legally proved in 
court yet. 

In Italy, Bolo's relations involve eminent people in church 
and state who are assumed to have been simply the victims of 
Bolo's personal magnetism. When he was in Rome, in Janu- 
ary, 1915 (before Italy entered into the war), Bolo helped to 
put through several deals in grain and automobiles intended for 
Germany. 



J 



n1 



[26] 

Vatican Dragged In 

The most extraordinary affair of Bolo's in Italy was his effort 
to found a great Catholic bank with a capital of 100,000,000 
francs, for here the personality of the Pope is dragged into the 
seemingly endless chain of intrigues. Bolo became familiar 
with the Marquis della Chiesa, brother of Benedict XV, who in- 
duced His Holiness to give a letter of recommendation to Bolo 
ivhich the latter is stated to have used with advantage to him- 
self. Bolo and the Marquis went to Spain together. The 
Frenchman was persona grata at the Spanish Court and had 
easy and ready access to the ear of King Alfonso, to whom in 
fact he presented many of the prominent people with whom he 
had come into contact in recent years. 

The bank proposition failed because rumors began to reach 
the Vatican that caused the Papal Nuncio at Madrid finally to 
interpose and stop the scheme. 

Now, divested of every trace of the trappings of opulence and 
ease, Bolo lies ill on a miserable truckle bed in Fresnes Prison. 
How much he will say and what he will say when he comes to 
trial by court-martial is pure speculation at this moment. 

But what emerges strikingly from the avalanche of revelations 
concerning him is that he was a familiar figure at the Court of 
Spain, at the former Court of Egypt, and at the Vatican, and 
that he obtained credit and credence and never awakened a sus- 
picion in all his large money transactions with such men as 
Baron Harjes, the Paris banker, and J. P. Morgan in New York. 

The press reports further disclosed that Bolo Pasha and Sir Roger 
Casement were in personal collusion early in the war in their plot- 
ting against their respective governments. From the foregoing rec- 
ord, which by some special dispensation of the God of truth escaped 
total emasculation by the censor, it sufficiently appears that the Sov- 
ereign Pontiff was himself actively, though secretly, aiding and abet- 
ting the monumental and continuous and world-wide treason of Bolo 
Pasha. 

Vatican activity in the Sinn Fein treason of which Sir Roger Case- 
ment was convicted was further disclosed by the vigorous and per- 
sistent efforts of the political power of Rome in this country to force 
some official action here which would save the life of Casement after 
his conviction. Roman Catholics in the United States Senate wasted 
several days in that pernicious effort. 

Such is the astounding record as it can be gleaned from sources 
which the Roman hierarchy is everywhere endeavoring to censor and 
suppress. If the secret archives in the Vatican, Geneva, Vienna and 
Berlin were permitted to speak the world would shudder at the guilt 
and infamy which is there concealed. 



V 



JiJBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ 

020 933 749 6 



DO YOU READ 



THE PROTESTANT? 

DO YOUR FRIENDS? 



What is your position on the greatest issue that has ever confronted 
the citizens of the United States? 

Never before has the issue whether a foreign autocrat or the People 
shall rule our country been so sharply drawn. 

Today, as never before, the attention of all thoughtful Americans, 
including the country's greatest statesmen, is centered in this immi- 
nent struggle of the right of our people against the might of political 
and financial Rome. 

On the side of America is The Protestant, a monthly magazine 
carrying state papers, official documents and authentic facts from 
public records obtainable only at the National Capital, where it is 
published by a professor in the post-graduate American University 
who is putting into it the ripened fruit of years of study on the 
question. 

On the side of Rome is a stupendous, world-wide organization de- 
pendent upon the ignorance and superstition of its members and 
backed by unlimited financial power. 

The supreme need of The Protestant is Clubs of Subscribers at 
six for five dollars. Put a five-dollar bill into this great conflict and 
thus add a mighty impetus to the forces of right. 

Send for our club Subscription Blanks, which are free on request. 

Buy our Subscription Cards at club rate of six for five dollars. 



Write to 

Gilbert O. Nations, Editor 

52 Bliss Building Washington, D. C. 



< 



